This Working Life: How employees with purpose bring more to the workplace

Employee Engagement Challenges

There is something broken in today’s organisations where the vast majority of employees are disengaged at work and leaders are tired of the rat race and the seemingly unattainable pursuit of employee satisfaction. It is widely acknowledged that today’s leaders are under pressure, dealing with multiple streams of incoming information, struggling with work life balance, and potentially facing burnout.

There is no doubt that when we are stressed, we are less compassionate, have tunnel vision and find it very difficult to stand back, question, consider and listen. Are we so caught up in addressing the symptoms of poor employee engagement that we are not taking the time to step back and focus on the source of the problem – that employees are disconnected from the organisation’s purpose?

In the modern world, many of our organisations are ruthlessly innovative and efficient machines in pursuit of profits and shareholder value, where employees are viewed as resources within an organisational structure, driving further innovation and growth. As we enjoy unprecedented industrial prosperity, many of us are questioning the meaning of it all. We are also longing for an emotional connection to the work that we do and a real understanding of the impact we have on our wider ecosystem.

Future-Focused Leadership: Interconnected Ecosystem

We are all part of an interdependent social and economic ecosystem and while achieving growth and profitability is a necessity for most commercial enterprises, the sense of being part of something greater than ourselves is more intrinsically motivating than traditional perceptions of corporate success.

The right leaders create environments where learning is a priority, where ideas and feedback are shared authentically, autonomy is fostered, and decision-making is distributed. Employees no longer feel managed, they feel valued and listened to, nurturing a more meaningful connection to the value they create during their workday.

No leader is a superhero. They can’t transform an organisation or be truly successful without the support, collective intelligence and nourishment of a team. As leaders, we would all benefit from slowing down, thinking more deeply, encouraging vulnerability and nurturing human connections. When employees feel empowered, purposeful, and engaged, transformation unfolds, it is not forced.

We have come through a period that has facilitated an exceptional chance for deep reflection and reassessment, and rather than succumbing to the temptation of a return to normal, I feel it is an opportune time to be brave, innovative, and creative in defining our future way of working.

The leaders who will flourish in the future will strive to serve the interests of multiple stakeholder groups, building successful, sustainable organisations where everybody thrives.